


Intercession

by unwindmyself



Series: curious shapes shift in the dark [65]
Category: True Blood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asexual Character, Fix-It, Friendship, Gen, Healing, Hospitals, Negotiations, agency and choices!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-27
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 20:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2885915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unwindmyself/pseuds/unwindmyself
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Devi comes to visit in the hospital; Nora and Sookie have an important discussion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Intercession

**Author's Note:**

> Part three, "Numb."
> 
>  **Original Characters** : Devi Avninder

“Hey, gang,” Devi calls as she enters the room. “Apparently everyone Jason’s ever met.”

“Field trip,” quips Pam from her spot in a corner chair (Tara is on her lap, Willa and Braelyn are nearest to them).

Devi shoulders her overlarge purse. “I thought I’d come check on him after my classes got out,” she explains. “I didn’t figure there’d be any change, but I feel kinda responsible.”

Charlaine nods all smugly-knowingly. “’Course,” she singsongs.

“Is Sookie around?” Devi asks.

“She’s, uh, busy,” Tara says dismissively.

“She gonna be around soon?” Devi presses.

“Soon,” Eric declares, though he’s not quite so sure given that he doesn't actually know what the discussion is about.

 

* * *

 

Sookie makes sure they’re a respectable distance from the room before she asks Nora, tone so casual it’s almost a challenge, “What’s up?”

Nora fusses with her zipper (she’s a lot more fidgety than Sookie had originally noticed, though it’s hard to tell if that’s from discomfort or something else entirely). “It’s about your brother,” she says.

All of a sudden Sookie realizes that, out of place though it would have been, she was expecting to be propositioned right now, either on Eric’s sole behalf or for some sort of threesome. It’s something of a relief to avoid that, honestly. “What about him?”

“Well,” Nora begins, sitting in a nearby chair ad folding one leg over the other In a way that looks choreographed (the slit in her skirt is such that her thigh is almost entirely revealed) and nodding for Sookie to join. “I was curious if you’d consider letting us – one of us – heal him.”

Sookie frowns. “I don’t…”

“Give him blood,” Nora clarifies.

“No, I know that,” Sookie says, a bit too snappy. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I’m not entirely sure how his being comatose will affect the process, I admit,” Nora muses, “but I assure you it’d be perfectly safe.”

“I know that,” Sookie repeats. “You know I’ve taken blood before. Bill and Eric’s both.”

“Yes,” Nora agrees tersely.

“Did you also know my brother had a V problem?” Sookie asks.

“I’ve heard things that led me to wonder,” Nora replies. “You know that Jessica has given him blood more than once in the recent past, presumably after he’d kicked the habit?”

“I do,” Sookie says, “and I also know what happened ‘cause of it.”

“What happened in part,” Nora corrects politely, sort of in Jessica’s defense.

“Also, I know it’s not cool to sign up for that shit in someone’s stead,” Sookie adds.

“Well, Jessica’s done it before, she wouldn’t mind doing it again,” Nora offers.

 

* * *

 

“You’re not into him?” Charlaine asks suddenly.

“ _Charlaine_ ,” Adilyn hisses.

“What, you must be gettin’ that too,” Charlaine says dismissively. “Or not gettin’.”

“It’s okay,” Devi says with the slightest of smiles. “Sookie told me you’re still learning that shit. To answer your question, I’m not.”

“But you saved his life all romantically,” Braelyn says before she can stop herself.

“I saved his life ‘cause human decency,” Devi amends. “That’s happened in this group, yes?”

“Brae’s not the one to ask,” Danika points out with a smirk.

“Still,” Devi shrugs, pushing the sleeves of her sweater up. “Just… I don’t know, heads-up.”

“What’s ace?” Charlaine asks, crinkling her nose.

“ _Charlaine_ ,” Adilyn repeats, looking even more mortified. “I’m so sorry she’s doin’ this, usually it’s not this bad, I mean…”

“Nah, it’s cool,” Devi shrugs, but she doesn’t offer an explanation.

“Ask Aunt Nora,” Willa suggests to Charlaine. “She’s good at explainin’ stuff.”

“Yeah,” Jessica agrees dreamily. “She is.”

 

* * *

 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Sookie says, frowning. Nora takes out her phone, and it looks enough like she’s just texting that Sookie asks, “Who are you writin’ that to?”

“Myself,” Nora says. “I’m taking notes.”

“About my brother?”

“About things that – well, I’m still sorting out a lot of the details, but there are clearly things that our little band of rebels needs to do, things that everyone in the world needs to do,” Nora shrugs.

“Things like…”

“Like, legal documentation of what medical procedures are allowed to be enacted when someone is unconscious and can’t make the decision themselves,” Nora explains, sounding remarkably patient and not patronizing.   “There’s documentation regarding whether someone’s relatives are allowed to pull life support, no? This is really very similar, but on the opposite side of the issue.”

“That’s not a terrible idea,” Sookie muses before adding, “but it doesn’t change the situation now.”

“I understand that,” Nora nods.

And it’s just so patient and unlike the declarative businesslike way she was speaking moments ago that Sookie asks, “What’s your deal?”

“Excuse me?” Nora asks with a laugh.

“Your deal,” Sookie repeats. “Your… I don’t know. You show up with these big eyes that I know means you wanna eat me, then it turns out you’re Eric’s sister, which doesn’t really help me understand you, and you were mixed up in all this... shit, then you wanna fix the world and psychoanalyze everyone.”

It’s not a horrible point, Nora understands this. She also understands, mostly objectively, how frustrating it must be for Sookie to not be able to figure someone out like she’s used to doing. (Frustrating, fascinating, some combination, it doesn’t really matter, and anyway that’s the psychoanalyzing that Sookie’s talking about.) “I fucked up and I need to fix it,” Nora says simply.

“The entire world?” Sookie asks.

“She’s an overachiever,” Eric declares, suddenly appearing in front of them.

“Huh,” Sookie says, because there’s not much else to say. “Is somethin’ going on in there? Did Jason…”

“No,” Eric promises, tone and expression both softening so much that Nora has to keep from audibly going “ _awww_.” “He’s the same. That girl is asking for you.”

“That girl?” Sookie repeats, because as far as she’s concerned that could mean a lot of things (read: all of the Bellefleurs) from Eric.

“The nurse-in-training,” Eric clarifies. “The one from the Auth – from Billith’s prison.”

Sookie perks up at that. it’s not that she doesn’t appreciate the fact that the whole extended family decided to pay a visit tonight, but at least with the girls and with Devi she’s on even ground.

“I’m assuming she wanted to talk to me,” she declares.

Eric nods, then extends his hands to both women to help them out of their seats. Nora responds immediately, letting him hoist her up by his left hand; Sookie stares at his right a moment before doing anything one way or the other.

“Lost in thought?” Eric asks, not unkindly.

“I don’t know,” Sookie says, but she takes his hand and lets him pull her up anyway.


End file.
